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Schools Without Violence (Tunisia)

Unemployment and the lack of prospects weigh heavily on the people of Tunisia, above all its youth, whose frustration can turn into problematic or violent behaviour. Schools and teachers are key stakeholders in helping adolescents to overcome conflicts without the use of violence. The interest of Tunisian education professionals in violence prevention and the importance of the cooperation between the Ministry of Education and the Goethe-Institut, are therefore considerable.

In 2017, the Goethe-Institut Tunis and the Ministry of Education of Tunisia agreed to develop the project strategy “More Tolerance at Schools.” School psychologists, teachers and students were identified as main target groups.

A training programme for teachers and school psychologists aims at familiarising these target groups with methods to create a violent-free school environment, among other things. The training agenda includes key topics such as “non-violent communication” and new forms of expression based on theatre and film.

A Focus on Boarding Schools

The Ministry of Education and its advisor, the Goethe-Institut, assign a priority to boarding schools, which they see as pivotal in the support of students in regions with limited access to resources and higher violence rates. Prevention and helpdesk workers for boarding schools were trained in the first half of 2018 and are launching their services in selected regions in the second half of the year.

Violence-Free School Environment

In workshops, attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education, students, teachers and school psychologists, the Goethe-Institut Tunis has produced a documentary and a short film titled “Students against Violence.” The workshops aimed also at sensitising participants for methods of self-perception and trained them on communication techniques that can help students express themselves about violence, especially their own experiences.

In the second half of 2018, the Goethe-Institut will hold workshops on non-violent communication and launch a pilot school project to strengthen the confidence and problem resolution skills of school girls. In addition, the Goethe-Institut intends to establish so-called “COMIC-Clubs” at boarding schools. In another pilot project, Tunisian education experts, together with the Tunisian Ministry of Education, will develop an online communication platform for all helpdesks. Students, parents, and teachers can use this platform to ask any questions anonymously and receive advice online.

Schools without Violence is a project of the Goethe-Institut and supported by the German Federal Foreign Office.